Alice Peel is a primary school teacher and the co-founder of Grow Your Mind, which is a program aimed at helping children develop resilience.

According to the mental health organisation, Beyond Blue, ‘half of all serious mental health issues begin before a child reaches 14 years of age’. So, Peel believes that helping children with their mental wellbeing early sets them up for a mentally healthy life.

Peel uses animals to represent key parts of the brain: a wise owl who makes good decisions (prefrontal cortex), the guard dog barking loudly (the amygdala), the elephant who tries to remember (hippocampus), the insensitive octopus (insular cortex), and Sifting Sooty (reticular activating system). We learn all the parts of the brain these animals represent. We even learn really interesting facts about the animals themselves long the way.

Through stories and exercises in each chapter our animal friends help us learn about friendships; how to make them, the good and the bad, why they might change. We are helped to understand that things might not always go our way but that’s okay or how to look at things in a positive way, think about your strengths and know that we are all different.

This is a fairly deep dive into this subject with some complex topics being tackled. Peel does this with engaging humour and interesting facts to learn while we come to understand feelings and helpful habits. It is bright and bubbly in tone and illustration.

If you have a child who could do with a bit of support or if you are a parent looking for some guidance and ideas, this book is a great place to start.

Reviewed by Emily Ross

Age Guide 10+

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alice Peel is a primary school teacher and co-founder of Grow Your Mind, a mental health social venture. She holds a Graduate Diploma of Teaching and Learning from the University of Southern Queensland, a Masters of International Public Health from the University of Sydney and has undertaken courses in positive psychology and neuroscience.